Sleepless Nights
by Rhosyn Du
Summary: Yuki's having trouble sleeping, and his teammates just want to help. Side B crack.


Yuki threw one last glance at the mirror before leaving his room. He looked, he thought irritably, like he hadn't slept in a week. Which, actually, was pretty accurate. Certainly, he hadn't managed to sleep _well_ in at least that long. He tossed a withering glare at the closed door he passed on his way to the stairs and couldn't help stomping a little harder than necessary through the hallway, though he knew it was a petty thing to do.

It wasn't that he was bothered by the fact that Aya and Chloe were lovers. Far from it, in fact. Yuki had noticed a marked decrease in the time Aya spent brooding, and he was rather pleased by this development. It was just that Aya...well, Aya was _loud_. As glad as Yuki was that his friend had found some enjoyment in his life, Yuki really didn't feel the need to have such...concrete knowledge of said enjoyment. Not to mention that the noises coming from the next room (along with the decidedly unwelcome mental images they inspired) made it very difficult for Yuki to fall asleep. There were a few things about which Yuki was perfectly happy to remain ignorant, and his teammates' sex lives definitely fell into that category.

"Good morning!" Michel called cheerfully as Yuki entered the kitchen. "Free and I are making pancakes. Would you like some?"

Yuki mumbled an affirmative as he flopped down at the table, trying to block out the sound of Michel's cheerful humming. How anyone could be so chipper first thing in the morning was beyond him.

A steaming mug thumped down in front of him, and Yuki glanced up with a murmur of thanks. Free smiled back at him with what might have been a hint of concern in his eyes. Yuki pretended he hadn't seen the concern and sipped at his tea. He knew how ragged he looked, but there were some things he really didn't want to discuss. Especially over breakfast.

"Hey, guys," Ken greeted as he bounced into the room. "Ooh! Pancakes!"

Yuki suppressed a groan. Why, oh why, was he surrounded by morning people?

Michel nodded brightly. "Would you like some?" he offered.

"You bet," Ken replied enthusiastically. "I'm certainly not going to pass up -- whoa." Ken stopped speaking as his eyes fell on Yuki. "Kid," he said bluntly, "you look like hell. What's up?"

"It's nothing," Yuki answered dismissively, taking a plate of steaming pancakes from Michel.

Ken gave him a look of disbelief. "You not sleeping well?"

Yuki shrugged.

"Something's got you worried?" Ken pressed.

"It's not that," Yuki answered around a mouthful of pancake and syrup.

"Nightmares?" Michel suggested.

"No," Yuki said flatly. He was _not_ having this discussion. "Look, it's not -- I'm fine."

"It's not good for you to be getting too little sleep," Michel said earnestly. "If something is keeping you awake, you should tell us. We might be able to help you fix the problem."

"That's really not necessary," Yuki said quickly. He could all too easily picture the younger boy politely requesting -- over dinner, perhaps, or during a mission briefing -- that Aya please try to keep it down so that Yuki could sleep. Yuki felt himself flush in mortification just at the thought. "I'm fine. Really."

"Oh," Ken said suddenly, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "I actually might be able to help," he declared. "Don't go anywhere."

Yuki stared after Ken in confusion, then turned to Michel. The younger boy shrugged, looking every bit as perplexed as Yuki felt. At least Ken's sudden departure seemed to have ended their discussion, Yuki thought as he dug into his pancakes.

Ken reappeared several minutes later, a satisfied grin on his face. "Ta-da!" he proclaimed, setting a mostly full industrial-sized canister of earplugs on the table. "I picked those up when I went to the game last month," he explained. "The only seats I could get were right up against the speakers. Don't think I'm likely to need the rest of them."

Yuki gaped. "How...?"

Ken shrugged. "My room shared a wall with Aya's when we lived in Tokyo."

"Oh," Yuki said faintly, trying very hard not to think about the implications of that statement. "Um, thanks."

"No problem."

"I'm confused," Michel said, setting down a plate of pancakes in front of Ken. "How are earplugs going to help Yuki sleep? And what does any of this have to do with Aya?"

"Uh...well..." Ken sputtered, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "You see, Aya..."

"Snores," Free cut in smoothly, shooting a warning glance in Ken's direction. "Very loudly."

"Oh," Michel said, his eyebrows drawn together in thought. After a few minutes of consideration, he spoke again. "Do you think we should get some earplugs for Chloe?"

Ken's eyes went wide. Free make a choking noise into his teacup. Yuki smirked as he lifted his last forkful of pancakes to his lips.

"Why does Chloe need earplugs?"

The pancakes seemed to lodge themselves halfway down Yuki's throat as he looked up to see a rather perplexed-looking Aya standing in the doorway. It was going to be a long day.


End file.
